Apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced composite material

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to apparatus for producing a carbon or boron fiber reinforced composite material for use in the manufacture of blades for gas turbine engines. The apparatus consists of a number of aerofoil section formers mounted on a rotatable drum means for winding a continuous fiber or bundle of fibers under tension onto the formers, a source of curable matrix material located adjacent the drum, and means for curing the matrix material.

United States Patent Palfreyman et a1.

1541 APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING A FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITE MATERIAL JackPalfreyman, Tansley, near Matlock; Henry Edward Middleton, Derby, bothof England Rolls-Royce Limited, Derby, England Nov. 15, 1968 Inventors:

Assignee:

Filed:

Appl. No.:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 5, 1967 Great Britain..55,170/67 [52] US. Cl. ..l56/44l, 29/1568, 244/123,

Int. Cl ..B65h 81/08 Field of Search ..156/l61,169,173, 175, 296,156/433, 441, 446; 230/134 P; 29/1568; 242/1.1; 244/123, 124

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1961 Kelly ..242/1.1A

1 Feb; 29, 1972 2,980,158 4/1961 Meyer..... 156/433 X 3,057,767 10/1962Kaplan 29/1568 B 3,205,108 9/1965 Wilkins... 156/446 X 3,250,602 5/1966Stalego 156/172 X 3,501,090 3/1970 Stoffer et a1. 230/134 P 3,333,2797/1967 Colen et 156/296 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 21 1,0429/1960 Austria ..285/21 Primary ExaminerCarl D. Quarforth AssistantExaminer-E. E. Lehmann Att0rney-Cushman, Darby & Cushman [57] ABSTRACTThe present invention relates to apparatus for producing a carbon orboron fiber reinforced composite material for use in the manufacture ofblades for gas turbine engines. The apparatus consists of a number ofaerofoil section formers mounted on a rotatable drum means for winding acontinuous fiber or bundle of fibers under tension onto the formers, asource of curable matrix material located adjacent the drum, and meansfor curing the matrix material.

1 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures COMPOSITE MATERIAL The present inventionrelates to apparatus for producing a fiber reinforced compositematerial. The invention has particular, but not exclusive, reference tocarbon fiber reinforced resin materials.

According to the invention, an apparatus is provided with a plurality offormers mounted on a rotatable support for receiving a continuous fiberinto mould cavities. Each former comprises a two part die whose internalsurfaces define an aerofoil shape. More than one continuous fiber orfilament may be used, and the fibers or filaments may be carboniferousor boron. The formers include mould cavities which are preferablyaerofoil shaped so that stator vanes or rotor blades for gas turbineengines may be produced with longitudinally extending fiberreinforcements. The continuous fiber or fibers are wound under tensioninto the mould cavities, and means are provided for supplying a curablematrix material to the fiber as it is being wound. Additional means areprovided for curing the matrix material. The fiber or fibers may beinitially extracted from a heat treatment furnace before being woundonto the plurality of formers.

The apparatus may include two or more formers mounted on a rotatablesupport and guide means may be located between adjacent formers in orderto evenly arrange the fiber or fibers. Each former may consist of a twopart die whose internal surfaces define an aerofoil shape.

The fiber or fibers may pass around a tensioning drum before being woundonto the or each former.

The invention will now be described in more detail, merely by way ofexample, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the layout of the apparatusrequired, and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of one of the formers of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings a continuous fiber 1 which may comprise asingle filament or bundle of filaments is shown emerging from a furnace2 which may be the last stage in a heat treatment process for themanufacture of the fiber. The fiber is passed over a drum 3 which actsas a tensioning device and passes through a guide 4 to a drum 5 on whichare mounted a plurality offormers 6.

The drum 5 is rotated on a shaft 7 by means not shown and the fibers areorientated on the formers 6 by deflector members 8.

Means for supplying a curable resin is provided and is shown in the formof a feed tube 9 and a nozzle 10 which are disposed adjacent the former.The resin is applied to the fiber simultaneously with the winding of thefiber on to the former. As the drum 5 is rotated therefore there is acontinuous build up of fibers on the formers 6 that the required shapemay be made.

In the particular example shown the former comprises a die made of twohalves having aerofoil shaped surfaces, the two halves being heldtogether to form an aerofoil shaped space 11 into which the fiber iscontinuously wound.

The invention has a distinct advantage over previous apparatus ormethods of forming aerofoil shaped blades in which sheets of resinimpregnated fibers are laid one one top of the other and pressed to formthe blade shape. The present invention avoids crushingof the fibers bypressing in moulds, which is a necessary step when blades are laid upfrom sheets, because each fiber, being wound under tension and beingcoated with resin, applies a small pressure to those fibers on top ofwhich it is laid thereby spreading out the resin to form a substantiallycavity free resin matrix. The invention also enables the fiber to resinratio to be more closely controlled.

Further, the resin is applied to the fiber immediately prior to windingin either an uncured or partially cured state, and a curing furnace maybe suitably positioned to one side or to the bottom of the drum whichcan cure the resin as the process proceeds.

The deflector members 8 are used to ensure that the fibers are laid onthe former in a straight line rather than having any curvature, andtherefore it may be necessary to provide some means of extracting andextending the guide members 8 as the former fills. I

The aerofoil shaped member produced by the process described in theabove example will have longitudinally disposed fibers and will,therefore be strong in tension and suitable for use as a rotor blade ina gas turbine engine.

It will be appreciated that by minor modifications to the deflectormembers 8 and to the former 6 a hollow blade may be produced. Themodification to the former will comprise the insertion in the aerofoilshaped space 11 of a suitably shaped core around which the fibers willbe deflected by the deflector members 8.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for producing fiber reinforced material comprising I aplurality of formers mounted on a rotatable support, with each of saidformers including a mould for receiving continuous fiber and a matrixmaterial, and each of said formers comprising a two-part die whoseinternal surfaces define an aerofoil shape,

a fiber deflecting means arranged adjacent an entrance to each of saidmoulds for guiding a continuous fiber into the mould,

means for winding a continuous fiber under tension onto said pluralityof formers,

means disposed adjacent to said apparatus for simultaneously applying acurable matrix material onto the fiber as it is being wound onto saidplurality of formers, and

means for subsequently curing the matrix material.

1. Apparatus for producing fiber reinforced material comprising aplurality of formers mounted on a rotatable support, with each of saidformers including a mould for receiving continuous fiber and a matrixmaterial, and each of said formers comprising a two-part die whoseinternal surfaces define an aerofoil shape, a fiber deflecting meansarranged adjacent an entrance to each of said moulds for guiding acontinuous fiber into the mould, means for winding a continuous fiberunder tension onto said plurality of formers, means disposed adjacent tosaid apparatus for simultaneously applying a curable matrix materialonto the fiber as it is being wound onto said plurality of formers, andmeans for subsequently curing the matrix material.